DUI charges in state trooper's death

Tuesday

Oct 30, 2007 at 12:01 AMOct 30, 2007 at 9:49 PM

This package of four stories follows the death of Illinois State Police Trooper Brian McMillen, who was killed early Sunday in a traffic accident while en route to help Sangamon County deputies control a fight in the parking lot of a rural bar. The stories deal with memories of McMillen by his friends, a profile of the troubled Illiopolis bar to which McMillen was driving, the arraignment of the alleged drunken driver who hit McMillen's squad car and possible action by the Sangamon County Board against the bar.

Amanda Reavy, Bruce Rushton, Sarah Antonacci, John Reynolds

(Story 1)

By Amanda Reavy

GateHouse News Service

Whether he was blocking football players twice his size as an offensive lineman or guarding the opposing team’s best player in basketball, Brian McMillen was an athlete focused on the good of his team.

“He was the type of kid that didn’t care about his stats. He was a good shooter, capable of scoring, but that wasn’t what mattered to him…. He was a kid that knows what it takes to win and was wiling to do whatever his role may be,” Pana High School varsity basketball coach Gary Bowker recalled Monday.

He said McMillen’s work ethic and sacrifice played a major role in the basketball team’s second place finish in the Class A State Tournament in 2001, his senior year.

“How he played basketball carried over his entire life. He was unselfish, always doing whatever to help out. He went from high school to the military… he continued serving as (an Illinois) state trooper. It’s just the way he was,” Bowker said.

Therefore, he said, it’s not surprising that the 24-year-old trooper was en route to assist fellow law enforcement officers handling a bar fight when he was killed in a three-vehicle collision near Illiopolis. The two other drivers were allegedly driving drunk.

“You watch movies with gladiators and warriors. The only thing warriors like that fear is a dishonorable death… They want to die on the battlefield; a captain wants to go down with his ship. For Brian, he was hustling his tail off to help someone in need in an unselfish manner and that’s just so typical.”

A day after his death, McMillen’s family and friends as well as former coaches and teammates continued to mourn the loss of the officer, soldier, standout scholar and competitor.

“Brian was a true model of the student-athlete, an outstanding young man and just a pleasure to have in our athletic program,” University of Illinois at Springfield Athletic Director Rodger Jehlicka said in a news release. “It is sad to see someone like Brian taken from this world way too soon.”

McMillen received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the UIS and was a member of the basketball team from 2004 through 2006. He was also twice named to the dean’s list and Academic All Conference Team.

A member of the Illinois Air National Guard’s 183rd Fighter Wing, McMillen transferred to UIS from Lincoln Land Community College.

He approached Coach Kevin Gamble and tried out for the men’s basketball program, then only in its third year, the news release said.

He was accepted and in 2006, McMillen was named the team’s Champion of Character during its first trip to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics basketball tournament in Kansas City, Mo.

As part of the honor, McMillen made a presentation to three groups of elementary school students about the five values of a NAIA Champion of Character: sportsmanship, integrity, servant leadership, respect and responsibility, the release said.

Former UIS student Brad Ward, who now lives in Indianapolis, met McMillen at UIS’ open gym sessions, where they started to play basketball with a group several nights a week.

“He was a unique kind of competitive. You knew he was there to win, but he would never drop his head, get upset, criticize a teammate or give up. He was a leader by example on the court and off the court,” Ward wrote in an e-mail to the newspaper.

Ward, who was president of the UIS Blue Crew student cheering section, said McMillen was always a crowd pleaser with his tight defense and ability to hit three-pointers.

Ward and McMillen married their wives, Jennifer and Angela, respectively, in July 2006, and before the nuptials, both couples found themselves in the same dance class.

“I think Brian and I were both a little embarrassed when we saw each other at the first lesson, but that didn’t last long. He always made it a great time, even when we were tripping over ourselves or our brides-to-be,” Ward wrote.

Bowker recalled becoming Pana’s head basketball coach in 1999 and learning McMillen was also a lineman on the football team.

“This kid is not that big, but he was a strong kid and tough. He’s blocking guys that weigh 100 pounds more… He liked to get up in the trenches and bang around with the big guys,” Bowker said. “He then turned around and was a guard on the basketball team.”

In addition to being named to All-Conference teams in both sports, McMillen was Defensive Player of the Year and Top Linebacker in football as well as the First National Bank Senior of the Year, UIS’ news release said.

Bowker praised McMillen’s parents, Terry and Jane McMillen of Pana, for instilling a good work ethic in McMillen and his 10 brothers and sisters, several of whom play sports as well.

“He was just a great human being, a great role model,” Bowker said. “Somebody like that always makes somebody better. A guy that leads by example, showing what to do and how to do it, and it carries over with everybody involved in anything he was a part of – the military, the state police. He makes everyone around him better.”

(Story 2)

By Bruce Rushton

GateHouse News Service

ILLIOPOLIS — JD’s Tavern is no ordinary neighborhood bar.

A quarter-mile from the nearest occupied building, the tavern opens at 9 p.m., and then only two days a week: Friday and Saturday. Save for a 12-inch-square pane of glass on a door and an opening just big enough for an “Open” sign, there are no windows. Admission costs $5 before 1:30 a.m. and doubles to $10 afterward, according to a sign on the door.

There are numerous rules, according to the sign.

No purses. No coats. No hoodies. No gang activity. No violence. No drugs. No weapons. No violent acts or fighting. Hats must be worn straight. Charges will be pressed.

“You will be barred or go to jail!!!!!!” the sign reads. “This is your warning!!!!”

The warnings have done little good, say police who are mourning one of their own after Illinois State Police trooper Brian McMillen died early Sunday while rushing to help Sangamon County sheriff’s deputies who were struggling to quell a melee at the bar.

McMillen was hit by a pair of suspected drunken drivers. And police are fed up.

The bar has logged 32 calls for police since Dec. 26 of last year, according to county sheriff’s records. The calls range from complaints about noise to a stabbing that occurred in August. There have been at least eight fights that required police intervention and five disturbances. Shots have been fired. Mace has been sprayed.

Sunday’s fracas broke out after one of the bar’s owners called police and asked that cars be towed from the tavern’s lot. When the owner decided to close early, more than 10 men began fighting outside, right in front of deputies, according to police reports.

Sheriff’s Capt. Jack Campbell estimated that deputies have responded to 50 calls for service since the bar changed ownership in September 2006. As many as 20 have been serious enough to warrant notifying the county board’s liquor committee, which issues liquor licenses, he said.

“Way too much manpower has been dedicated to that one location 20 miles from Springfield,” said Campbell. “It’s ridiculous, the amount of manpower it costs us.”

There might have been even more trouble at JD’s if deputies didn’t visit the bar on their own and babysit the parking lot at closing time, Campbell said.

Donyal Banning, an owner of the bar, did not return a phone call from The State Journal-Register.

The bar, previously known as Jukebox Junction, had had trouble before changing hands. In March of 2005, sheriff’s deputies responded to a shooting and arrested an Illiopolis man on suspicion of attempted homicide and aggravated battery with a firearm. The victim was from Riverton.

Most of the trouble since the bar changed ownership has involved patrons from Decatur, where bars close at 2 a.m., Campbell said. Police believe parties that start in Decatur simply cross the county line and end up at JD’s.

“There’s nobody from the Illiopolis area who’s ever out there,” Campbell said.

Police aren’t alone in their frustration.

“I get lots of phone calls,” said David Mendenhall, county board member who represents the area. “There’s all kinds of traffic. There’s been people run into the ditch. Loud music and loud tires squealing and screaming and yelling. Out in the country in the summertime, noises travel a long way.”

Bonnie Peyton, president of the Illiopolis Board of Trustees, said she fears the bar is giving her town a bad reputation, even though it is outside city limits.

“At one time, it was a place where you stopped after work and had a beer and farmers visited after working in the fields,” Peyton said. “That’s long since passed. Now, the place doesn’t come alive until after 12:30 or one o’clock. Every Monday morning, I go into the office and hear about brawls that went on there.”

On Sept. 12, a sheriff’s sergeant and a county liquor inspector toured JD’s with bar owners and recommended several improvements, including more lighting outside and surveillance cameras in the parking lot, the interior and at the entrance. The owners said they wanted to take photographs of customers as they entered.

County officials said they thought that would be a good idea, but that the owners should check with a private attorney to see if taking pictures of patrons would expose them to lawsuits.

Klaus Hemmer, who lives about a half-mile away, said he’s never heard any noise, but it’s hard to miss JD’s when the sun goes down and parking-lot lights switch on.

“At night, it lights up like a candle,” Hemmer said.

The bar hires private security, Campbell said, and has agreed not to allow anyone to enter after 2:30 a.m.

“There are things they’ve tried to do on their own that we’re aware of,” Campbell said. “It’s just not working.”

(Story 3)

By Sarah Antonacci

GateHouse News Service

SPRINGFIELD -- When Justin L. Taylor walked into a Sangamon County courtroom Monday afternoon to face charges in connection with a weekend traffic accident that killed a state trooper, he faced a line of tan shirts in the front row.

Five uniformed Illinois State Police officers sat in the front row, hats balanced on the divider between them and attorneys, and a handful of other law enforcement officers sat behind them.

“We made a promise to (Trooper Brian McMillen’s) family that we’d represent them in court today,” said state police District 9 Capt. James Wolf.

Taylor’s family was there, too, sitting across the aisle from the law enforcement officers. They listened as the 22-year-old Decatur man was charged with aggravated drunken driving, reckless homicide and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.

The charges are not Taylor’s first related to alcohol.

According to records discussed in court, he’s currently serving 12 months of court supervision for a Macon County DUI charge he pleaded guilty to on May 25.

Taylor’s driver’s license has been suspended twice — once for having three or more moving violations, and once before that when he was a teenager. That case involved an underage liquor violation that fell under Illinois’ zero-tolerance law, said Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Schmidt.

Taylor’s family refused to comment about the case, but his attorney, Tim Timoney, said the weekend crash has affected Taylor immensely.

“He’s very sad right now and saying prayers for his family and the trooper’s family. There’s lots of remorse and sadness about these circumstances,” Timoney said.

State police would not release details of the crash Monday. The agency referred questions to Schmidt, who said he routinely does not discuss cases.

However, it appears that McMillen was headed south on Dye Road, on his way to a call at JD’s tavern near Illiopolis, when McMillen’s squad car collided with a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria driven by Taylor.

No information was available on whether Taylor had been at JD’s before the accident, but he was coming from the direction of the late-night bar, which attracts many weekend patrons from Decatur.

A third vehicle in the crash involved in the crash was driven by Shai-Tan L. Cook, 28, also of Decatur. Cook was still hospitalized Monday. He has not been charged with anything related to the crash so far, although authorities said Sunday that both Taylor and Cook were driving drunk.

Sangamon County Coroner Susan Boone reported Monday that McMillen died of blunt force injuries to the body.

(Story 4)

By John Reynolds

GateHouse News Service

The Sangamon County Board member who represents the Illiopolis area would like to see a local bar voluntarily give up its 3 a.m. liquor license due to ongoing problems, such as a fight early Sunday in the bar’s parking lot.

“I would like to see them voluntarily either surrender their license, which is pretty harsh, or at very least roll it back to 1 a.m.,” said David Mendenhall. “I think if they rolled it back to 1 a.m., that would solve a lot of problems.

On Sunday, deputies were called to JD’s Tavern, 938 Mount Auburn Road, because of a parking complaint. After deputies arrived, a fight broke out in the parking lot, and the deputies called for help.

One of the officers who answered the call was Illinois State Trooper Brian McMillen, who was killed in a three-car crash on his way to the bar. The other two drivers involved in the crash reportedly were intoxicated.

Sunday’s incident wasn’t the first time deputies have been called to the business. In September, county liquor commissioners talked to the bar’s owner after two people were stabbed in the bar’s parking lot.

Donyal Banning, owner of J.D.’s, told the commission she would take such measures as improving lighting and barring admissions after 2:30 a.m.

Mendenhall said Monday he would like to believe Banning is trying to clamp down on problems, but he doesn’t think that will be possible as long as the bar is open until 3 a.m. He said the bar draws people from nearby Macon County, where bars close at 2 a.m.

Sgt. Lydell Kallenbach of the Macon County Sheriff’s Office agreed that deputies routinely see cars heading west when bars close in Macon County.

“We do see an exodus to Sangamon County,” said Kallenbach, who cautioned that he could not say the drivers are specifically going to JD’s.

The Sangamon County Board’s liquor committee hadn’t received any official reports Monday on the incident that led to McMillen’s death.

“We are going to have to wait and get the report. Until that happens, I can’t say much,” said Tom Fraase, who chairs the committee.

The liquor committee has the authority to revoke JD’s license if the bar is found to contribute to ongoing police problems, such as fights. The owners would be able to appeal that action to the state.